How to joint a chicken in 3 easy steps

“Why do you need to learn how to joint a chicken when you can buy chicken pieces already?” we hear you ask. Well, generally speaking, buying a whole bird is often cheaper than buying chicken pieces, so when it comes to getting more bang for your buck, buying and jointing a chicken is more cost efficient.

But if you’re anything like us, this is one of those kitchen hacks that most of us pretend we’ve got covered, but when it actually comes to cutting up a whole chicken, we’re often left with something resembling more of a crime scene than a bunch of perfect chicken pieces.

Never fear — you’ll see that with just three steps to learn, you’ll come to realise how easy jointing a chicken really is. Simply follow the steps, and then why not try this delicious herby chicken roast or spicy chicken legs? Don’t forget: you can also freeze some of the pieces for later use.

Here’s how to joint a chicken in three easy steps:

Step 1: Put the whole chicken, breast side up, on a board. Pull the leg away from the body and cut through the skin and the joint. Remove, not forgetting to cut away the oyster on the back.

Step 2: Separate the thigh and drumstick, then repeat on the other side of the bird. Pull the wing away from the body and cut through the skin and the joint.

Step 3: To remove the breast, cut down along the breastbone about ½ a cm away from the centre. Using long cuts, slice the flesh away from the rib cage, then repeat on the other side.

Looking for recipes that use chicken pieces to use up your cut up chicken? We’ve got loads!

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